I recently went on holiday to take my first bite of the big apple, a place where everything is magnified. Skyscrapers rise up acting as trees to this concrete jungle, the bright lights of Time Square is the cities second sun, and the vast gauze of noise from all of this activity its soundtrack. Many of the cars are also of XL variety. Whilst in Europe the hatchback dominates cities, here in NYC I lost count of how many mammoth Cadillac Escalades and Ford F150 I saw.
Thanks to the ”One Ford” program, my first motoring experience came in the form of a Fusion taxi. This was familiar as it is effectively the same car as our Mondoe, although I will say that quality of interior materials was nowhere near as good.
Working our way through the congested grid system of New York, I quickly realised that America isn’t full of muscle cars, which was a little disappointing. Primarily larger SUVs populated the streets, I can understand why as the level of aggression on these roads are unlike anything I have ever experienced. With all of the lane switching, horn tooting, and general bullying, I would rather have a larger car too.
Throughout the day most cars are rather generic. They are mainly American made as you might expect, but also a good helping of Japanese cars. Crossing the water to Brooklyn revealed that everyone drives a Toyota Prius. I counted 17 parked in just 1 block! I quickly scuttled back across the bridge to avoid upsetting the residents.
As night fell things started to get interesting. Those with money in the city often work very late hours, and so when they head home their prized possessions come out to play. Plenty of new Corvette Stingrays, the odd Porsche 911 Turbo, and even a couple of Polaris Slingshots. The only car that broke this night time trend was a Lamborghini Aventador that ventured into Time Square at daybreak.
Whilst NYC wasn’t crawling with muscle cars like in my fantasy, there were a few loitering on the streets before I left. Some really mean looking Dodge Challengers, one I saw even had the HEMI rocker hood, rumbled by and on the way to the airport the new Ford Mustang made an appearance.
Whilst there are some interesting cars that call NYC home, I’d hate to have all of that horsepower with nowhere to gallop.
